Optical observations of conjugate sprites in South Africa

Details Optical observations of conjugate sprites in South Africa Optical observations of conjugate sprites in South Africa

Dec 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003agufmae42a0794m&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #AE42A-0794

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

2427 Ionosphere/Atmosphere Interactions (0335), 2431 Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Interactions (2736), 3304 Atmospheric Electricity, 3324 Lightning, 3334 Middle Atmosphere Dynamics (0341, 0342)

Scientific paper

Theoretical studies have predicted optical emissions and ionospheric conductivity enhancements due to precipitation of relativistic electron beams, created by large positive cloud-to-ground discharges in the magnetically conjugate hemisphere. In July and August 2003, an attempt was made to detect these optical emissions, called conjugate sprites, and correlate them to sprite observations in Europe near L ­ 1.8. In the northern region, two remote-controlled low-light CCD cameras were installed at the Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees (OMP) in France to observe sprites in southern France and northern Spain. Additionally, VLF receivers were installed in Europe to detect causative sferics and ionospheric disturbances associated with sprites. In the southern region, the Wide-angle Array for Sprite Photometry (WASP), an array of six photometers, was set up to observe conjugate sprites at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) near Sutherland, South Africa, with a field-of-view magnetically conjugate to the northern observing region. A VLF receiver was also set up at SAAO to detect ionospheric disturbances of VLF transmitter paths caused by relativistic electron beams. The team at OMP has observed over 100 sprites. Further analysis is required to determine whether conjugate sprites have been observed. We present initial analysis of optical data recorded at SAAO as well as charge-moment analysis of causative sferics to determine the likelihood of the conjugate events.

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